June 10, 2022 |
Blingin’ It is Ten’s online series where we spotlight the innovators and change-makers of the jewellery world.
Diamonds used to be a girl’s best friend, but these days it seems precious gems are being replaced by gilded thorns or body armour. Emerging jewellery designers are moving the borders between flesh and adornment, body and metal, and human and accessory. Here, we present to you a trio of designers who are proving the days of prim and proper are over.
Hubert Kołodziejski
Photography courtesy of Hubert Kołodziejski
The pursuit of individuality in fashion is not about new challenges, but new approaches. “I deeply believe that to create something truly unique, you need to rely on yourself and your vision. We are one-of-a-kind receptors that process reality,” Hubert Kołodziejski, Warsaw-based jewellery designer, tells me. His pieces, consisting of melted, plastic-like structures, look like a lovechild between Ridley Scott’s Alien, morning dew, and blow glass. His creations seem to fuse both freedom of water movements and the sharp precision of ice.
“I know that some people claim that everything was already done, but that is not the truth. That is being too lazy. Too comfortable,” Hubert continues. His pieces are worn by models, designers and underground rappers alike, carving out a cult fanbase around his otherworldly creations. After all, who would say no to jewellery that can make you feel like a cosmic warrior?
Amy Rodriguez
Photography courtesy of Amy Rodriguez
Amy Rodriguez, whose metal structures have been worn by the likes of Tsunaina, Yves Tumor and VTSS, also places emphasis on the removal of restrictions. “There’s a huge move in the jewellery world that is ripping away all narrow-minded ideas of beauty, gender, style and wealth,” she says.
Jewellery, for her, is a way of real-life shapeshifting: as she explains it, jewellery as body modification allows people to “morph their features, decorating themselves and empowering their own unique silhouettes”. The designer’s pieces stem from her love of silver and sculpture, but also inspirations not limited to the form or material – they include “nautical esoterica and romantic sea creatures”.
Mermaids appear throughout Rodriguez’ work, symbolising fluidity and change. Describing her childhood, spent next to the sea, the designer states: “I was usually in a dreamland fantasy, transfixed with nature’s forms as a way of escaping reality.”
Dominik Zwyrtek
Photography courtesy of Dominik Zwyrtek. Models, from left to right: Emma Szumlas and Basia Grajner
Dominik Zwyrtek markets his creations under the slogan of “practical surrealism”. His jewellery has a metaphysical aspect, mostly through the usage of unconventional materials. In his belts, he congeals real dead insects – spiders, grasshoppers, beetles – in layers of glass. His necklaces feature real human hair, and the thorns on his earrings are pointy enough to cut – the relation between the pieces and the wearer becomes a performance of its own.
This is what Zwyrtek finds special about jewellery: “When you create accessories or jewellery the effect is never final, as it would be in the case of sculptures that are in museums,” he explains, adding that for him, fashion is an endless journey; you can always style the pieces in a different way, giving each a new life.
“I would like the jewellery of the future to be more distinct and bigger, and also used more as a way to emphasise how the body, or the silhouette, looks – rather than it being just another element on a human hanger,” the designer adds.
In that sense, jewellery seems to accompany changes that we’ve seen during on the catwalks since the pandemic began. From Loewe’s car dresses to Chet Lo’s spiky knits, one thing is clear: minimalism is now passé.
Top image courtesy of Hubert Kołodziejski.
